America Online Inc. said it is offering refunds on a case-by-case basis to customers who call complaining that they can't log on to the service. The move comes as AOL faces a rash of criticism that the online computer service oversold a product it couldn't reliably deliver. With users swamping the service's lines in response to a new flat-rate pricing plan, busy signals frequently greet subscribers trying to log on during periods of heavy usage. A spokeswoman for Dulles, Va.

California's biggest workers' compensation insurer, State Compensation Insurance Fund, said it expects to pay $99 million in refunds to its business customers that held workers' compensation policies in 1996. The amount is equivalent to $436 for each of the company's 227,000 customers, although the actual payouts will vary widely, and not all customers will receive the dividends. The $99 million also amounts to 10% of the premiums paid by employers last year.

The Rams announced Thursday that ticket-holders desiring cash refunds for the game Oct. 11 at Anaheim Stadium against Pittsburgh may obtain them by mail or in person before Tuesday. Actually, refunds will be made only Monday and Tuesday. Any refund requests by mail should be postmarked no later than Tuesday. Tickets should be sent to Ram Box Office, 1900 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim, CA. 92806. Refunds are available in person at the Ram ticket office at 10271 W. Pico Blvd.

The Kings announced Friday that they are in the process of issuing playoff-ticket refunds to season-seat subscribers. Payments have been processed for those who secured their seats with credit cards, and checks were issued Friday for other ticket-buyers, a club spokesman said. The Kings did not make the playoffs, and their regular season ended on April 14. There is no NHL policy regarding the handling of playoff refunds.

Customers buying high-speed Internet access from Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles and Orange counties could get refunds of up to $40, the company said. More than $1.8 million in franchise fees will be refunded, with current customers finding the credits on their bills and former customers receiving refund checks, the company said last week.

Enron Corp. challenged an order to refund $32.5 million for violating electricity trading rules during the California energy crisis of 2000-01. An administrative law judge with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered the refunds in July after finding that Enron set up an arrangement to staff El Paso Electric Co.'s trading desk as a way to increase Enron's market share and give it access to sensitive market information.

Scarred from the lessons of other air carrier bankruptcies, travel agent Jean Conner was braced for the worst as Continental Airlines sought bankruptcy protection Monday. To her surprise, the expected tide of angry telephone calls from customers seeking ticket refunds never came. "No one is beating down our doors," said Conner, who runs El Monte Travel with her husband, Ralph. "Perhaps it hasn't sunk in yet."

An agreement approved unanimously by the City Council will give refunds to each subscriber of TCI Cablevision of the east San Fernando Valley. The city's Information Technology Agency negotiated an agreement with the cable firm that will provide customers with refunds of $5.38 apiece while setting the basic service rate at $9.97.

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered Century Communications Corp. to pay refunds totaling nearly $4.6 million for overcharging about 177,000 cable subscribers in the Los Angeles area between September 1993 and this August. Century customers may not see any immediate results from the federal action because local franchise authorities must first sign off on the FCC's assessment of Century overcharges.

More than a thousand customers didn't receive items they had ordered from a company that does business through Amazon.com Inc., forcing the massive online retailer to offer refunds. Amazon.com spokeswoman Patty Smith said Monday that the outside seller, which is listed as "Mygreatchoice," received outstanding customer ratings when it first began selling on Amazon.com in July. But Amazon.com noticed a big decline in customer satisfaction starting in late November. Seattle-based Amazon.